Sponge applicator



W B JONES SPONGE APPLICATOR Filed March l5, 1928 May 23, 1933.

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The resent invention relates to applicators or materials such as detergents and the like, and in particular to a combination scrubber and material reservoir. Ithas ar- Aticular reference to a body brush or scru ber adapted to contain soap.

Although the article of the present invention is not limited to use with soap and other such detergents it is more particularly de` lo signed and adapted for such use.

One object of the invention is to provide a useful reservoir or container for materials having a utility comparable to soap.

Another object is to provide a porous envelope for soa and the like used in the form of powder, ca e, chips, lumps, gel, etc.

Another object is the provision of a ce1- lular envelope of water resistant material such for example as a rubber sponge, so that thematerial is immediately available from surfaces of the cells rather than from fibers,

such as fabric.

A particular object is the provision of a rellable bath brush or sponge, or both, which has a pocket to contain soap.

v Various other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description ofthe invention as exemplified in the embodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawing .showingrubber sponge and soap as the preferred ex amples of materials. In the drawing,

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a rubber sponge containing a cake of soap.

Fi 1 on the line 2-2.

ig. 3 represents a plan view of a sponge made of two separate slabs of rubber. Fig. 4 isa side view of the sponge of Figf. In the ordinary use of soap, it is rub d directly on the skin, and strongly alkaline soaps injure delicate skins. By means of the present invention the soap itself may never make contact with the .skin without dilution with water, which must ,first penetrate the casing or envelope and there dissolve the soipl to carry it to the surface for use.

using soap its slipperiness is freuently a considerable nuisance, making it iicult 5' to pick up and to hold and use soap. The

Fig. 2 isa cross section of the sponge ofpresent invention provides 4a friction means for overcoming all these diculties.-

Ordinary` soap floating or resting in wa Ater is wasted by dissolution of it. The article of the present invention rovides a stora e structure about the soap rom which disso ved .soap is slowly diffused into the surrounding water, and in which it is held in available form when removed from water for usin it. The present invention also provides a oating article which keeps the soap at the'surface where it is visible and available.

Wet soap left in a dish or tray drips a strongl soap solution into the tray, which is unsig tly and wasteful. I The present invention obviates the use of a tray and prevents such dripping. What liquid adheres to the soap or to the, envelope is held therein against dripping and when the envelope dries out the soap residue is widely dispersed and available for immediate solution as a film coating at the walls of the cellular structure of i the envelope. Non-absorbing material l aids in making the'dried detergent material 76 immediately available on supplyinfg water.

The soap containing article o the present invention is preferablyflexibleso that on squeezing it air in its pores is forced to the surface, forming a soap lather much more readily than can be produced by any ordinary use of soap. The invention in its preferred form provides an article of econom?1 for the household in providing a receptac e or pocket for small pieces of soa that are not convenientl used in the or inary way, and which are fyiv'equently broken up and wasted as solid lumps through the drain.

The article may be used inman places, for example in washin windows, is'hes, or other places where a liquid and a cleaning agent and friction are desired. Materials such as an acid cake of fused sodium acid sulphate may be employed where an lacid wash is required, as in c eaning marble, terra-cotta and the like.

In the drawing there are shown severalpractical structures embodyin the inven-v tion. I have found, that a variety of forms and modifications may be employed,but that 10 for the most universal use certain considertically concealed and is closed in the normal,

status of the article. The pocket 12 is reached through a narrow or constricted passageway 13 which may be stretched for inserting into the pocket a cake of soap 14,

larger than the normal area of the channel.

The length and the narrowness of the, channel prevent the cake slipping out through the opening, and aid in keeping the channel closed by means of the normal resilience of the rubber. l

The soap shown is large and it maj.7 be larger than the normal size ot' the pocket because of the abil-ity of the envelope to stretch. Eventually it will be smaller. When smaller the friction of the rubber on the soap is greater than when the rubber is stretched about the soap, and this compensates for the reduced size of the soap in the packet.v

In Figs. 3 and 4 I show two layers of material, such as the rubber sponge slabs 21 and 22, secured together at the edges, as by thread 23 leaving an opening 24 for soap. By placing the threads at the edge of the article a pocket 25 is formed which is substantially equal to the full area of the slabs.

' If desired a narrou'7 constriction or channel v ful.

26 may be made by securing a limited area of the slabs to each other as indicated at 27. I have' found that the lathering qualities are improved by reater iiexibility, attained by the use of a tliin layer of sponge covering the soap. I have also found that the finer the cellular structure of the sponge'the thinner the layer should be to get satisfactory results. I have also found that looseness of the soap cake in the pocket is help- It is also desirable to use suiiicient thickness of material so that the soap is invisible through any of the pores of the sponge, and available only by a tortuous passage through'fthe cellular structure.

It is to be understood that these conditions are mentioned in reference to the preferred forms of the invention as applied to use with soap and with rubber sponge material. In other embodiments as wellas in the foregoing embodiments and forl special uses with soap various modifications may be made without in any Way departing from the spirit of the invention as expressed in the appended claims. Mechanical mountings for Sponges ada ted to contain soap and the like are considered to be within the scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

I claim:

l. A detergent article comprising in combination, an envelope consisting of two lay- 4 ers of sponge material secured together at flat surfaces to forma pocket, and detergent material in said pocket.

2. A retillable detergent'article comprising in combination two layers of material secured together at coincident surfaces to form a pocket between them and an opening for said pocket, one of said layers comprising a porous spongy soft and resilient substance.

3. A rehllable detergent article comprising in combination two separate Hat slabs of sponge rubber secured together at the periphery of the slabs to form va pocket between the slabs, the securing of the two slabs being incomplete about the edges to leave an opening into the pocket of less width than the pocket.

4. A reillable detergent article comprising a sponge envelope having when empty a detergent receiving pocket the sides of which are normally in contact to form a solid sponge, said pocket having a constricted opening to the exterior of the sponge.

5. A retllable detergent article comprising an envelope of sponge material having at the periphery a thickness of material not greater than the total thickness of material above and below the pocket area.

6. A relillable detergent article comprising a block of sponge rubber suitable inform for a bath sponge, said block being internally cut as by a knife slit to form a pocket, said cut extending to the exteriorV and being constructed to form a constricted neck-like entry into said pocket. A

7. A sponge applicator comprising a solid sponge structure having parallel surface areas and-having a slit formed within it of substantial area providing a pocket parallel to said surfaces for receiving material, said slit extending .in a constricted neck-like opening to the exterior of the applicator.

8. A sponge applicator comprising a solid sponge structure having parallel surface -areas and having a slit formed within it of substantial area providin a pocket parallel to and substantially mi way between said surfaces, said slit extending in a constricted neck-like opening to the exterior of the applicator.

9. A sponge applicator comprising'in combination a solid sponge structure having an atlixed my signature.

- BARTLETT JONES. y 

